Re: Coronavirus (COVID-19)

To support Faith Ministry through this crisis, click here. We appreciate your love and support!

Update: May 5, 2020

Mission work groups are so much more to Faith Ministry than volunteers who come to help build a house. They are friends, they are family. They bring love, joy, hugs, laughs, and hope to all of us here in Mexico. One of the best parts of the work we do is seeing our good friends pull through the gates of our complex and giving them hugs for the first time since last year, sharing a meal with a new friend, or holding hands in worship with a friend we’ve known a long time.

It has been difficult going through the past several weeks without the teams who were scheduled to come. We have missed the hugs and the laughs and the feeling of community working and fellowshipping alongside one another.

For the safety of the groups, as well as of our staff and the families in Mexico, we have made the very difficult decision to cancel all mission work groups through August. This is not a decision we wanted to make nor a situation any of us want to be in, but we know that it is for the best.

The absence of groups this summer does not mean that we will stop serving our communities in Reynosa and Miguel Alemán. When it is safe to do so, we will begin opening our programs back up, step by step, with staff at first, and later with our local volunteers. All activities we do will be done with an abundance of caution, and we will keep you posted along the way.

We will be continuing to stay connected with all of you through videos and photos here on Facebook, phone calls, texts, and emails. We know all of this is hard on everyone, and our prayers are with you and your families. We miss you, and we look forward to the day when we are in a big circle, holding hands, singing Unidos, Unidos together. Hang in there and stay safe, amigos!

Update: April 21, 2020

This week, Mexico extended the national stay-at-home order through mid-May for states with fewer cases and the end of May for large cities with higher numbers of cases.

🏠 PROGRAMS: In response to this, we have extended the suspension of our programs through at least May 17. At that time, if we are able, we will resume basic activities, including distributing grocery packages and hygiene kits to the community. It is our hope that by June 1, we can resume all normal ministry activities.

✈️ MISSION WORK GROUPS:We have cancelled all mission work groups through May. We are hopeful that groups scheduled for June and July will still be able to come, but we will be in touch with group leaders and monitor the situation as it progresses.

❤️ OUR COMMITMENT:Our commitment to pay our staff remains the same, and we are able to do that because of the support we have received from all of you! And because of that support, we also know that we will be ready to serve our community when we resume activities because they will need us more than ever.

THANK YOU to all of you for your prayers, your financial contributions, and your encouragement through all of this. We are missing everyone, but have loved connecting with you through phone calls, messages, emails, and videos. Don’t miss a great chance to connect this Friday at 6pm CT/7pm ET – another virtual cookout with David! (check out our Events tab for more info)

Our prayers are with all of you and your families – stay safe and stay healthy!

Update: April 1, 2020

Friends, things are continuing to change throughout the world, and Mexico is no exception. This week, the country declared a national health emergency, and because of that and for the safety of our staff, we have made the difficult decision to suspend all ministry programs and activities through the end of April.

Administrative staff will be working from home, and select staff will be on-site at all of our facilities for safety. Pastor Carlos in Reynosa will continue to conduct church services via Facebook live, and Pastor Benito in Miguel Alemán will continue to reach out via phone to church members.

Thanks to all of you who support us throughout the year, we are able to continue paying all of our staff in Mexico and the U.S.; no one will lose their salary or health benefits because of this suspension. We know that there are millions of people around the world right now for whom that is not the case, so we feel incredibly blessed to have that security. Your donations ensure that all of our staff will be able to put food on the table for their families, seek medical attention, and pay their bills throughout this difficult time.

The good thing is that we were preparing for this, and that’s why we have spent the past week distributing hygiene kits and grocery packages to the community. We also created a “stocked pantry” in Reynosa and Miguel Alemán for our staff in case of emergency since grocery supplies at stores are running low. We took care of the community, one family at a time, to make sure they had what they needed, and now the best way we can take care of each other is by staying home.

We will still be posting here regularly, even though our programs won’t be running in Mexico. We’ll be sharing videos, connecting you more with our staff, posting our favorite pictures, and more – and don’t miss David’s virtual cookout on Friday (check our Events tab for more info)! We want to stay connected with all of you through this – we are all a community, unidos in the love of Christ. Our prayers are with you and your families – stay safe and stay healthy, amigos!

Update: March 20, 2020

✈️ MISSION WORK GROUPS All mission work groups scheduled through early May have been postponed. Right now, we are still optimistic that our summer schedule of groups can proceed according to plan, but we know that may change. We will be in touch with group leaders scheduled for the summer over the next few weeks.

🏠 PROGRAMS: We have decided to continue running our programs that meet immediate needs of the community, so our medical clinic, children’s nutrition program, and infant feeding program will continue to serve in the safest ways possible. All other programs in Reynosa, Miguel Alemán, and Naranjito are suspended for the time being, including construction and church activities.

👥 STAFF: Our Reynosa and Miguel Alemán offices are closed to the public, but the office staff will be there doing administrative work. Other limited staff will be at the complex to complete maintenance work. Our McAllen office staff is primarily working from home. All staff in the U.S. and Mexico will continue to be paid, and we are also going to financially support our workers who are long-term volunteers.

💡 IDEAS: We are looking for ways to stay connected with all of you during this time, so if you have any ideas (songs you want to hear, recipes you want us to post from Marisela’s kitchen or David’s grill, reflections you want to read, etc.), please comment below or send us a message and let us know!

Our prayers continue for all of you and your families, as well as our brothers and sisters around the globe. Stay healthy and stay safe, amigos!

Update: March 14, 2020

✈️ MISSION WORK GROUPSOur staff and Board of Directors, together with group leaders, have made the decision not to host groups for the next four weeks. We are working with group leaders that had to postpone their trip to find alternative dates, and we are continuing to communicate with group leaders scheduled for April.

🏠 PROGRAMS:Our plan for this week is to continue running all programs in Reynosa and Miguel Alemán, as long as it is safe to do so. If that changes, we will keep you posted. We are also finding ways to help those at-risk in our community through grocery packages, health education, and more.

Our prayers continue for all of you and your families, as well as our brothers and sisters around the globe. Stay healthy and stay safe, amigos!

Update: March 13, 2020

All of the additional precautions we updated you all on yesterday are still in place, along with some new information:

✈️ MISSION WORK GROUPS We will not be hosting any mission work groups from the U.S. at least for the next two weeks. We are in communication with groups leaders who have trips scheduled for later this month and April and will be working with them to make the best decision for their groups and our local communities.

🏠 PROGRAMS: All ministry programs will continue to run in Reynosa and Miguel Alemán, as long as it is safe to do so. There are still no cases of the coronavirus in the state of Tamaulipas, where Reynosa and Miguel Alemán are located, and there are still no cases in McAllen.

❤️ OUR COMMITMENT: In these uncertain times, we are committed to: – Paying all of our staff regardless of any pause of programs, work schedules, etc. – Serving our communities on the border with our programs for as long as is safe to do so – Finding additional ways to care for our community, especially those at higher-risk (delivering grocery packages, providing medical information and recommendations to clinic patients and volunteers in the form of flyers, posters, etc., and more)

We know that this is a difficult and tumultuous time for all of us. Although the border region where we are has been spared from any cases, it is still affecting the families we work with. Many families don’t just live paycheck to paycheck; they live day to day. They don’t have the privilege of missing work or stocking up on items they need. Remember these families, not only here on the border but across the world, in your prayers.

If you feel led to and are able, please consider making a donation at https://faithministry.org/give. It will go a long way toward making a difference in the lives of families on the border.

At Faith Ministry, we have been through our fair share of tumultuous times, but we have the peace of God in our hearts. That’s what got us through then, and it is what will get us through this time now. Our prayers are with you and your families. Stay healthy and stay safe, amigos!

Update: March 12, 2020

If you’ve spent time with us in Mexico, you know that social distancing is not in our nature; we greet with hugs, handshakes, and kisses on the cheek, and we hold hands in prayer and worship.

However, in times like these, we are getting creative and implementing changes to protect our brothers and sisters from the U.S. and Mexico.

At this time, we are still hosting mission work groups from the U.S. and operating all of our programs normally with the following precautions:

👋🏼 GREETINGS & WORSHIP For the time being, we are refraining from handshakes, hugs, and kisses on the cheek as greetings, and we will not be holding hands during our daily prayers. We will also not be shaking or holding hands during our traditional “Dame La Mano” and “Unidos, Unidos” songs.

🧼 CLEANING & SANITIZING We will continue our daily cleaning and sanitizing of the shared spaces in our complex and clinic facilities, exercising extra caution and diligent attention to detail. All staff, volunteers, and mission work group members will be following the preventative precautions of washing their hands frequently and using hand sanitizer when needed. Our kitchen staff will be taking extra precautions while handling and serving food.

🤧 ILLNESS AND/OR AT-RISK If someone is feeling sick, or who has someone at home who is sick, they are asked to stay at home, whether that is a mission work group member, local volunteer, or Faith Ministry staff. Additionally, if anyone is at higher risk for COVID-19, we ask that they exercise caution and consider staying home.

🩺 OUR MEDICAL CLINIC Our clinic in Reynosa will be giving priority to patients exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 so that they can be treated quickly and to reduce the time spent in our waiting room. The clinic will be closing one hour early each day to allow the staff time to thoroughly clean and sanitize before the following day. The dormitories of the clinic will be closed off from the rest of the clinic to prevent any interaction between visiting groups and patients. All group visits to the clinic and its program will be paused for the time being.

Currently, there are still no cases of COVID-19 in Reynosa, Miguel Alemán, or the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico, and there are still no cases in McAllen, TX. We are staying up-to-date on the situation and will let you know if there are any changes.

Thank you for all of your support, and we pray for the health and well-being of all of our brothers and sisters across the globe.

Hello friends and Faith Ministry family,

We know that many of you are concerned about the coronavirus and its impacts around the world. We wanted to let you know that there are currently no cases of COVID-19 in Reynosa, Miguel Alemán, or the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico; there are also no cases in McAllen, TX. We are staying informed of the situation on both sides of the border and will keep you updated.

The safety of our teams, our staff, and our volunteers is our number one priority, so we will always make decisions with that in mind. Right now, all of our activities in Reynosa, Miguel Alemán, and McAllen are operating normally.

Thank you for your continued support and feel free to email us at david@faithministry.org or colleen@faithministry.org if you have any questions!